But her love of song is central to who she is and Carey said music helped shape her.

"Growing up different, being biracial, having the whole thing where I did not know if I fit in," she said. "That is why music became such a big part of my life, because it helped me overcome those issues."

"Sometimes it is hard to let your guard down," she added.

And while she's now rolling in the dough and currently on tour with Lionel Richie, Carey said things weren't always so plush.

She talked of sleeping on the floors of music studios and having no money for food.

"My go-to meal was (Newman's Own) sauce," she said. "Me and my friend would split the pasta and sauce for, like, a week. Or it was, like, a bagel and iced tea. ... The guy would give it to me at the deli for free."

One of Carey's latest business ventures, she said, is an as-yet-unnamed fragrance she has coming from Elizabeth Arden.

"It smells like success," Carey said. "There is also a secret song I have been working on."